The Wranglers of Brokeback Mountain

Can't Stand It- v2

2008-07-24T04:32:04Z

Title: Can’t Stand It - Vignettes
Rating: NC-17 for the whole story
Genre: au
Summary: Jack drives to Wyoming when he hears about Ennis’ divorce. He does not react well to Ennis sending him away.
Warnings: Angst, bad grammar, typos......no death and I like happily ever after.
Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters and I make no money from this.
Feedback: Yes, be honest- just be nice about it. I’m sorry that I write the lamest responses.
ENJOY!

I blame my fever

http://nosunlight.livejournal.com/33854.html

Milestones part 38

2008-07-21T16:25:38Z

Milestones part 38

Disclaimer: It's not mine, though I wish I could be as creative as Annie Proulx. I am only borrowing her wonderful characters so I can FIX what I couldn't stand.

rating: NC-17, with BBM fic it's safer.

I want to thank shopinchickcas for Beta Reading this for me.

Previous Chapters:

part 1: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/2912.html#cutid1

part 2: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/3219.html#cutid1

part 3: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/3553.html#cutid1

part 4: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/3837.html#cutid1

part 5: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/3945.html#cutid1

part 6: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/4119.html#cutid1

part 7: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/4533.html#cutid1

part 8: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/4854.html#cutid1

part 9: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/4883.html#cutid1

part 10: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/5548.html#cutid1

part 11: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/6160.html#cutid1

part 12: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/7100.html#cutid1

part 13: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/7662.html#cutid1

part 14: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/8008.html#cutid1

part 15: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/8377.html#cutid1
part 16: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/8609.html#cutid1

part 17: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/8777.html#cutid1

Part 18: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/9114.html#cutid1
part 19: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/9587.html#cutid1

Part 20: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/9906.html#cutid1
part 21: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/10633.html#cutid1
part 22: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/10934.html#cutid1

part 23: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/11380.html#cutid1

part 24: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/11854.html#cutid1

part 25: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/12096.html#cutid1

Part 26: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/12783.html#cutid1
Part 27: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/13165.html#cutid1
part 28: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/14508.html#cutid1
part 29: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/14700.html#cutid1
Part 30: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/15090.html#cutid1
part 31: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/16033.html#cutid1
part 32: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/17126.html#cutid1
part 33: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/17208.html#cutid1
part 34: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/17713.html#cutid1
part 35: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/37977.html#cutid1
Part 36: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/49881.html#cutid1
Part 37: http://trekfan.livejournal.com/73840.html#cutid1

Recap: Ellen and Jack get to know each other better and Ennis and Jack hire a new hand.

Ennis was glad it was the end of the workday. He gathered the hands, Jason, Mitch and Andy together. "I just wanted to tell you fellas that we got a new worker comin tomorrow. Mitch, I want you to show him the ropes. Let him help you mend the south pasture."

"Sure boss." Mitch had impressed Ennis and Jack so they made him foreman.

"Okay, then. Night," Ennis told them.

"Night, Ennis," Andy said.

"Night boss." Jason’s Uncle Ned had bought him a second hand truck so he had his own wheels.

Ennis watched them go. He still felt strange when they called him boss. He never thought he’d be anyone’s boss. It was because of the man in the house, Jack, who wanted a sweet life with him and kept hope alive for twenty years. Finally, he decided to take a chance and threw in his lot with Jack because he loved him.

He remembered that Jack wanted to continue what they’d started in the barn earlier. His cock twitched at the thought of Jack waiting for him.

"Jack?" as he came into the mudroom, took his coat off, hung up his hat and took off his boots.

"Jack?" He looked in the office but it was empty. Kaylin had gone home for the day. He could smell something cooking in the kitchen, so he walked in to see what they were having for dinner.

He stopped in his tracks at the sight that greeted him. "Jack?"

Jack was standing behind the island wearing nothing but an apron. "Hey, Ennis. I told Kaylin I’d cook for us. I made us some chili, all cheesy not too spicy, just hot enough."

Ennis watched Jack walk from behind the island and walk over to the oven. He bent over to take out the garlic bread he had warming up. The view of his naked ass and balls had Ennis warming up too.

"It’s almost ready…mmm." Jack turned around to look at Ennis and met a pair of lips on his.

"I’m ready now." Ennis had his arms wrapped around Jack. Jack reached over and turned off the chili and bread.

"Okay, cowboy. Let’s get cookin." Ennis pushed Jack against the island and pulled his own pants down. He grabbed the olive oil and slicked up his cock. "You ready darlin?"

"I was born ready." Jack looked over his shoulder and into Ennis’ chocolate brown eyes. "Saddle up cowboy." He crossed his arms and rested his head on them. His legs were parted and his pucker was pulsing in anticipation of what was to come.

"Uh Ennisss." His hands were in fists pounding the dark surface of the granite island.

"Ya want me to stop?" Ennis had stopped moving and had his big hands on his butt cheeks and was rubbing and caressing them.

"Oh don’t you fuckin stop. Keep going come on Ennis."

That was all Ennis had to hear. He pushed all the way in. Jack had his butt out to meet Ennis’ thrusts.

Ennis reached around and wrapped his hand around Jack’s cock. They moved together, Ennis held Jack tight. Jack came all over Ennis’ hand. His puckered opening gripped the large cock inside him, which drove Ennis over the edge and he filled Jack up with his warmth.

Ennis rubbed his cheek against Jack’s back and kissed the warm, sweaty skin.

Jack slowly turned in Ennis’ arms and looked into his chocolate brown eyes.

Ennis looked at Jack’s apron and smiled at the words written on the front, "Kiss the cook." He kissed Jack passionately.

"I love ya, Jack Fuckin Twist."

Jack wrapped his arms around Ennis’ neck and turned his face into his warm shoulder.

"I love ya too, Ennis."

Jack went up to bedroom and quickly put on a pair of jeans and a t- shirt and came downstairs to serve the chili and garlic bread.

The next morning, Jack woke up and rolled over. The space next to him was empty, which was no surprise to him. Ennis was usually up before him. Jack moved over on to his cowboy’s side of the bed, which was still warm and buried his face into the pillow. He just loved to inhale Ennis’ scent.

"You gonna stay in bed all day ya lazy ass?"

Ennis was standing at the doorway, holding two cups of steaming coffee. Jack sat up and smiled at his husband. Ennis handed Jack one of the mugs and sat down next to him.

"You didn’t think I had a lazy ass last night." Jack leaned over and stole a kiss.

"I like yer ass just fine." He put his mug down, and grabbed Jack’s, to put it aside, then pulled Jack over his knee and pulled down his pajama bottom and slapped his naked ass.

"Hey! What’s that for?"

"That’s to make sure yer lazy ass is awake."

It took a little longer before the happy couple made their way into the kitchen.

"Morning guys," Kaylin greeted them. "I got some scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns for ya." She dished up two heaping plates and placed them on the dining room table.

"Thank ya, Kaylin." Ennis said in his deep voice that made hearts skip a beat.

After they’d finished they got their boots, coats and hats and met the hands outside.

Lucas was parking his truck next to Mitch’s when Ennis and Jack arrived at the barn.

"Fellas this here is Lucas Watts, we just hired him." Jack did the introductions.

"I’m Mitch, the foreman." Mitch and Lucas shook hands. He was also introduced to Andy and Jason.

"Mitch." Ennis called him over and they went over the chores he needed doing. The cows were going to be calving soon and they’d be working round the clock. Ned and some of their other neighbors would be coming by to help.

Lucas was going to be starting off by mucking out the stables.

Jason and Andy were going to feed the cattle and Mitch was going to check the fencing.

Ennis went into the horse barn to check on Lucas.

"Hey, boss." Lucas was finished mucking out all the stalls and was spreading fresh straw. He was working in Scout’s stall. Ennis was watching him closely. He loved horses. They were like his babies. He’d never thought he’d own, his own let alone start breeding them. In fact two of the mares were pregnant. Scout would be the proud papa.

Lucas was putting Scout back in his stall, when he started to become difficult, pulling back and refusing to move.

"Easy now. Come on boy. Let’s get into our stall," he trying to coax him in. Lucas liked working on a ranch, herding cattle, and doing the grunt work, but he wasn’t that keen on horses, and Scout seemed to sense that. He nipped Lucas on the arm.

"Hey! Knock that off. Come on, get back into your stall, damn it!" He slapped Scout’s rump hard. Scout got more agitated by the minute.

"Stop that!" Ennis’ anger was growing by the minute, until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He came over and grabbed the reins right out of Lucas’ hands and started to quiet Scout down. "Easy now. Shhh." Scout calmed down under Ennis’ expertise.

He patted Scout’s neck and stroked his muzzle. He was able to put him into his stall with no problem.

"Outside." Ennis marched over to the barn door. "Now!" he bellowed. Lucas followed him out and no sooner had he gotten outside, then Ennis laid into him. "What the hell were you thinkin? You don’t never hit a horse. I thought you knew what you were doin."

"I’m sorry, boss. I guess I’m not good with horses, like you are."

"You were brought up on a ranch and you ain’t good with horses?"

"I like workin with cattle. When I was on my dad’s ranch, I’d drive a truck with feed and supplies."

Ennis grunted "Coulda said you wasn’t comfortable with horses."

"I thought I could handle it."

"Ya cain’t guess when yer handling horses or livestock." Ennis checked the other horses. "Get outta here. Go find Mitch and tell em I told ya to feed the cattle."

"But."

"Go on, now!"

"Okay." He walked out of the barn in a huff. When he was out of Ennis’ line of sight he gave Ennis the finger then found Mitch. He ended up spending the rest of the morning standing in the bed of the truck and throwing feed out to the cattle.

Ennis was checking on Cherry Cake and Molasses, the two pregnant mares.

"Hi, lil darlin." They were stable mates and kept each other company. Ennis let them nuzzle his hands. He gave each of them some carrots.

"Thought I’d find ya here." Jack was watching his cowboy talking to his babies.
Jack took one look at Ennis’ face and knew something was not right.

"What’s happened, Ennis?"

Ennis had moved over to Scout’s stall. "Came upon Lucas roughing up my horse, is what happened!" Scout whinnied when he heard Ennis raise his voice. "Shh. Easy boy." He gentled him.

"What?" Jack walked over and stood next to Ennis. He knew how much Ennis loved his horses and wouldn’t stand anyone mistreating them.

"He was mucking out the stalls and when he tried to get Scout into his stall, the horse spooked and Lucas hit him and yelled at him. I had to take over. He told me he didn’t have much experience with horses. I said how the hell can ya work on a ranch and not know yer way around a horse? He said he’d drive around his pa’s ranch. I tell ya, Jack, he’s gotta go."

Jack put his hand on Ennis’ shoulder. "Where is he now?"

"I told him to go find Mitch and tell him he should help feed the cattle."

"Ennis, I think we just need to give him a chance. You know some hands are better at some things than others. We just have to find his strengths."

"Yeah, well if I catch him harming anything on this ranch, he’ll find out about my strengths"

"Come on, Ennis. Let’s go on and get some coffee. I need to have a meeting with my partner." Once a week Ennis and Jack would sit down and have a meeting to go over the books and talk about ranch stuff.

They grabbed some coffee from the kitchen and went into the office and closed the door.

Lucas told Mitch his version of what happened, making it seem like Ennis overreacted. Mitch had looked at him skeptically. "I’ve know Ennis and Jack a long time now and I’ve never seen Ennis just go off for no reason. I’d watch myself, if I were you." Mitch told Andy and Jason to drive Lucas out tot he field and they spent the afternoon with the cattle.

"How long you been working here?" Lucas asked Jason, when they took a break.

"I’ve been here a while. My uncle lives down the road. He got me this job," Jason told him.

"What do you know about Mr. Jack?" Lucas asked him, as they sat under a tree. Andy drove back to the barn because he had to tell Mitch something.

"Mr. Jack was a bull rider."

"Really?" Lucas took a swig of water from a bottle.

"Yep, when he was about my age. He followed the rodeo circuit and ended up in Texas."

"Did he win?" Lucas was eager to learn more.

"He won some. There’s a display case filled with his buckles and awards. It’s in the living room."

"I’ll have to take a look sometime. So, he was in Texas. I always wanted to go to Texas. My dad was from there, then he moved to Montana."

"Mr. Jack lived down there for a long time."

"He was in the rodeo all that time?" Lucas asked as he took a drink.

"No, he was married."

‘Cough, cough,’ Lucas was choking on the water.

"You okay?" Jason was patting him on the back.

"Oh, yeah. It just went down the wrong way." He sat back against the tree. "Mr. Jack was married?"

"Yep he’s got a grown son. He’s off in Laramie at the university."

"How did he and Mr. Ennis meet up? Was he in the rodeo too?"

Jason laughed. "No, Mr. Ennis never liked the rodeo. I heard him say rodeo riders were fuck ups."

Luca’s head jerked up at that remark. "The hell they are. My granddad did some bronco riding in his day."

"I think Mr. Ennis was just joking."

"So how did they meet up?"

"I don’t know. All I know is they’ve known each other a long time. Mr. Ennis was married too. He’s got two grown daughters. I think he and Mr. Jack decided to partner up and start this ranch together."

"I guess they gave up on women, huh?" Lucas got up and dusted himself off. Mitch was driving up and it was time to get back to work. Jason just shrugged at the comment.

"Come on, fellas, it’s time to get back to work. There’s some fences needing mending."

Jason and Lucas got into the cab of the truck. Lucas stared out the window and was thinking long and hard about his talk with Jason.

The rest of the day went quietly. The hands had gone home and Kaylin left a meatloaf cooking in the oven for Ennis and Jack.

Jack came out of his office looking for his husband. He wasn’t in the barn. Jack stood looking out over their land, still amazed that this was all theirs. The sun was slowly going down when…"Damn it!" Jack smiled when he heard Ennis swearing. He found him around the back of the house by the garage. He had the hood on the truck open and Ennis was tinkering with the engine.

The only thing he could see from his angle was Ennis’ assets. He walked over to his cowboy.

"Hey, Ennis. Whatcha doin?"

"What does it look like I’m doin? I’m changin the oil on the truck. First, the damn plug wouldn’t open so I could drain the oil out and now the oil cap fell out of my hands and I cain’t find it."

Jack looked down and fished it out. "This it?" Ennis gave him a look as if to say, ‘show off,’ and grabbed it out of his hand. He’d filled the oil reservoir with several quarts.

"Jack could you check the dipstick?"

Jack did.

"Looks like it’s full up now."

"Okay, thanks." Ennis locked up the cap and slid off the front of the truck. He felt a hand rubbing his butt cheeks. He turned his head and looked into a pair of blue eyes that were full of desire.

"I like to see my man workin on his engine."

"Oh, yeah?" Ennis felt his cock coming to attention as the rubbing continued across his rump.

"Yeah." A pair of lips met his and a tongue gently drew a line around his lips. "you know what I need?" A finger combed through his dark blond curls.

"Whut?" Ennis felt like he was in a daze.

"I think I need my dipstick checked."

"Oh, yeah?" Ennis grabbed Jack’s hair and kissed him softly.

Jack took his right hand and put it on his denim-encased cock. "Yeah. See? You think you can help me with that?" Jack’s eyes grew dark with need. Ennis’ throat got dry and it was hard to swallow. His cock was practically bursting out of his pants.

He slammed the truck hood closed. "Come on, I gotta get my tool out." Ennis took Jack by the hand, their fingers laced together, and led him inside and upstairs to their bedroom.

Clara greeted them when they came in. She was barking and wagging her tail. They paid her no mind as they quickly made it to their bedroom and slammed their door shut.

In no time their clothes were scattered all over the floor and two sweaty bodies lay sprawled on the bed.

Ennis was on top of Jack’s naked body. He leaned down and captured Jack lips. They stared into each other’s eyes, no words were needed between them. Ennis caressed Jack’s face with his callused hands and Jack’s arms wrapped around Ennis’ back, his fingers were buried in Ennis’ blond curls. He loved combing through the soft locks.

Ennis pushed his hips forward, their cocks brushed against each other. Jack raised his hips to meet Ennis’ cock.

Jack reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the lube that always sat there. He grabbed his lover’s cock and coated it up good and slick. Then he watched as Ennis put his cock head at his puckered opening and slowly slid in. His legs wrapped around Ennis’ back, with his heels pushing against his cowboy’s butt cheeks.

"Yeah," Jack arched his back. "Yeah right there, right there!" he panted. Ennis pistoned into him like a pile driver and his hand was stroking Jack’s cock in time with his thrusts.

Jack locked gazes with Ennis. "Yeah faster, go faster En Nis!" he hissed. Ennis’ hand cupped his balls and gently squeezed them, which sent him over the edge.

"Ah!" he squirted all over Ennis’ hand. His anal muscles pulsed around Ennis’ cock. Jack heard Ennis moan as he came, filling Jack’s channel.

He reached up and pulled Ennis’ head down and kissed him.

"That’s some tool ya got there, cowboy," he managed, as he tried to catch his breath.

Ennis lay on his side and stared at Jack. He gently caressed his cheek with his fingertips.

"Love ya," he whispered, as he lowered his lids shyly.

Jack wrapped his arms around Ennis and pulled him into his embrace. "Love you too," he whispered.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms. Peace and contentment surrounded the happy couple.

TBC

Sad...

2008-07-21T10:02:11Z

I'm not sure if anyone else shares this feeling (and I don't know if I can express it properly), but with 'The Dark Knight' having debuted this last week, I can't help but feel...weird (and somewhat melancholy)...now that when the names 'Ledger' and 'Gyllenhaal' appear together in credits it's Maggie and not Jake that's relevant. It doesn't even have anything to do with shipping the two guys (I wasn't much into the RPS aspect to begin with), but it just harkens memories of the last time the two names appeared together...it was such a happy and exciting time then.

Can't Stand It - v1

2008-07-21T07:42:41Z

Title: Can’t Stand It - Vignettes
Rating: NC-17 for the whole story
Genre: au
Summary: Jack drives to Wyoming when he hears about Ennis’ divorce. He does not react well to Ennis sending him away.
Warnings: Angst, bad grammar, typos......no death and I like happily ever after.
Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters and I make no money from this.
Feedback: Yes, be honest- just be nice about it. I’m sorry that I write the lamest responses.
ENJOY!

I know I am a big loser. I just ended the story and I am posting again.

http://nosunlight.livejournal.com/33622.html

TRYING TO LOCATE BROKEBACK SIX FEET UNDER AU FIC

2008-07-20T13:44:34Z

Sorry to ask this here, but I've been googling for ages and cannot seem to find this AU fic I read a while ago and loved to bits but now cannot find I do not even know if it was ever completed. Its an AU fic and is sort of a SIX FEET UNDER cross over, with Ennis as a funeral director and Jack a starving artist in New Orleans who has just buried his friend Lureen in the first chapter. Ennis' brother and sister do not know Ennis is gay but Ennis thinks he may be and has an attraction to Jack. Anyone know it ?

Ficsearch :D

2008-07-18T16:37:43Z

I apologize if this isn't allowed but I read a fic that was Jake/Heath called "Boys In Love"
I did have it on my computer but then it crashed and I lost it
:D
I can't remember who wrote it or where I found it
If somebody could tell me where to find this fic I'd be eternally grateful
danke

Can't Stand It - chapter 103 - last chapter

2008-07-17T00:13:05Z

Title: Can’t Stand It
Rating: NC-17 for the whole story
Genre: au
Summary: Jack drives to Wyoming when he hears about Ennis’ divorce. He does not react well to Ennis sending him away.
Warnings: Angst, bad grammar, typos......no death and I like happily ever after.
Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters and I make no money from this.
Feedback: Yes, be honest- just be nice about it. I’m sorry that I write the lamest responses.
ENJOY!
LAST CHAPTER - please read note after the cut.

Can’t Stand It
Chapter 103

Please note: There won’t be a sequel because I have no plot for it. But, they don’t want to leave my brain just yet. So . . . there will be occasional vignettes. Thank you to everyone who followed my rambling tale. I truly appreciate all the kind words.

Without further ado:

Jack was barely down the stairs when Jenny and Junior jumped onto him. Each sat on a hip. They hugged and kissed him. Jack hugged and kissed them back.

Jenny spoke first. "You don’t seem like a zombie to me."

Jack laughed. "I’m cured."

"Good." Junior added. "We love you and we don’t want you to be a zombie."

"I love you both." Jack kissed their cheeks.

Jack watched as Bobby jumped into Ennis’ arms. Jack watched Ennis having to take a step back trying to get his balance. He couldn’t hear what was being said but he could see Bobby resting his head on Ennis’ shoulder. Ennis was swaying slightly as they talked to each other. The way Ennis held Bobby reminded Jack when Bobby was hurt and Ennis comforted him. This time there was no cast and Bobby was bigger.

Jack watched Ennis talk to Bobby and comfort him. He watched as Ennis cupped Bobby’s face, stroked his cheek and kiss his forehead. Bobby closed his eyes and smiled softly.

Jack realized he was also gently rocking. Junior and Jenny were resting their heads on his shoulders. He couldn’t stroke their cheeks, but he kissed them again. He whispered. "I’m glad you’re both here."

"We’re sorry people are being awful."

"I’m finding out who my real friends are."

Jenny sat up and kissed his cheek and then placed her head back onto Jack’s shoulder. Jack heard the Petersons go back into the kitchen and Brenda tell them to bring their plates into the livingroom.

Jack knew that Ennis was watching him. Jack looked at him, as they both swayed. Jack didn’t know what got Ennis to come to Kansas and what it meant. He needed to know.

Ennis was surprised when Bobby jumped in his arms. He hadn’t expected it. It took him a moment to stabilize himself. "Bobby." Ennis could see that Sam was pushing everyone into the house.

"You came anyway."

"Yeah."

"Even though he was mean to you." Bobby lowered his head onto Ennis’ shoulder. "I’m glad."

"Are you?"

Bobby paused. "Yeah. I’m not sure how I feel about everything, but I want you here."

"You’re sure?"

"That’s one of the few things I’m sure of." Bobby paused. "Are you here for good?"

"I will have to go back to Wyoming to tie up things, but if your Dad wants me, I’m here for good."

"Good."

"Thank you, Bobby." Ennis cupped Bobby’s face and stroked Bobby’s cheek. He kissed Bobby’s forehead. "I love you, Bobby. Very much. No matter what happens." Ennis heard Bobby sigh. He felt Bobby’s body relax.

"I love you, Ennis."

Ennis looked up at Jack holding Jenny and Junior. He watched as Jack kissed their cheeks and how they smiled when he did. He could see that Jack was swaying like he was.

Jack released the girls and Ennis released Bobby. The kids looked back and forth. Bobby took a few steps toward his father and Jenny and Junior moved toward Ennis. They stopped in the middle and again, they all looked at the two men. Junior took Bobby’s hand and Bobby took Jenny’s hand. The three children walked to the house. They closed the door quietly behind them.

When Ennis knew they were alone, he walked up to Jack. "Heard you were looking for a foreman."

"Know anyone?"

"Maybe. Gave notice at work."

"Ennis . . . What if . . . You shouldn’t have done that without knowing. I don’t think I would have let you in the house yesterday."

"I would have stayed at the Petersons’ until you came to your senses."

"Ennis . . . "

"I couldn’t spend the rest of my life holding onto memories when I could spend my life holding onto you."

Jack grabbed Ennis and hugged him. He rested his head on Ennis’ shoulder. "I think that is the nicest thing anyone ever said to me."

"It’s the truth, Jack. Love you more than anything."

"I love you so much, Ennis." Jack and Ennis swayed. "Missed you, too."

"Soon, you will be sick of me."

"Never going to happen."

"All those cute things I do . . . You will tire of it and start to hate it."

"What cute things? You do cute things?"

"I thought you thought the Yiddish was cute."

"No. I found it sexy."

"What about the peach bubble bath?"

"Found that disturbing. But, in a good way."

"So I don’t do any cute things?"

"Are you turning into a girl? My son now knows I’m a gay man and you are turning into a girl."

"I’m not turning into a girl." Ennis paused. "You said you have Sally moments. You said I was the cutest thing."

"You are the cutest thing. You don’t do cute things. There is a difference. You do Ennis things. I will never get bored or annoyed of that."

"You say that now. Fifty years from now . . . We will see."

"Yes, we will." Jack kissed Ennis’ neck. "So, you are moving here for real?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to be able to work here? Knowing that everyone knows about us."

"It won’t be easy at first, but at least they will know why I got to be foreman."

"It’s hard, Ennis. Some people will work hard, but won’t look at me in the eyes."

"Don’t need them to look into my eyes. Just need them to work."

"You sound like a foreman."

"Good thing I wasn’t looking to be a chick crotch checker. Did they quit?"

Jack smiled. "No, they didn’t."

"That’s good. I wondered how you go looking for an employee who can do that?"

"Don’t know. They were here when I bought the place. The only crotch I want to look at is yours."

"Not during work."

"When we are alone. Are you sure you are ready to deal with ranch hands that know?"

"Gonna have to be. Even if I worked at another ranch, they would know. It’s you and me, Jack. Like it should have been."

"What about Jenny and Junior? I know it’s going to be hard for you not to be around them all the time."

"Alma said that they could spend the summer here, with us. Amanda and Katie told Jenny about a music day camp they used to go to. She wants to go. Junior wants to work with the big farm animals and she says you are the only person who hires women."

‘With us’ kept repeating in Jack’s head. Ennis’ other word barely registered. "Alma said that?"

"Yep. Also said when my house is rented out that she would let me crash on a couch when I want to visit the girls."

"So you all made decisions about my life without asking me?"

"Yep."

"I can live with that."

"Good." Ennis kissed Jack. "She also mentioned that Monroe joined an association for small grocers . . . "

"He didn’t seem small to me." Jack interjected.

"Dumbass. Anyway, there is a conference in early August, in Denver. Now that Monroe is opening a second store . . . "

"He’s opening a second store?"

"Just said that. They went to go look at it today . . . "

"That’s why no one answered the phone."

"What?"

"I’ve been calling you and Alma all day."

"You have?"

"Yeah. Wanted to tell you I didn’t mean it."

"Tell me now."

"Ennis, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said on the phone."

"I know you didn’t. Just never say it again."

"I won’t."

"Good. Anyway, they are thinking about going. She mentioned that after that, she wouldn’t be adverse to visiting the girls here."

"Alma in Kansas. Jesus." Jack rubbed his head. "That will be a sight. Alma, Monroe, um . . . "

"Nathan."

"Thanks. Alma, Monroe, Nathan, Junior, Jenny, Bobby, you and me together, bowling or something." Jack laughed. "Wonder what Scott would say to that?"

"Don’t give a shit." Ennis looked at Jack. "You don’t want Alma here?"

"Ennis, she can come anytime she wants. Hell, I’ll build them a house if it makes it easier for Jenny and Junior to be here, with us."

Ennis heard the ‘with us’. It sounded good to him. "You mean it?"

"I love Jenny and Junior. If Alma is part of the package, so be it."

Ennis smiled. "She told me we could talk about holidays and school vacations when I came back."

"That’s good."

"Dreamt last night that they were here for Christmas. All of them."

Jack stroked Ennis’ face. "Is that what you want? Is that what you need?"

Ennis looked down at his feet and then back at Jack. "I love you, Jack, I do. But, I . . . I can’t sacrifice my girls. I was left behind, forgotten. Can’t do that to them."

"I would never ask you to."

"I know. But, it’s a lot to ask. I mean it would look odd if you and Bobby came up for Christmas with me. You wouldn’t be visiting me. People would wonder. I wouldn’t want to go alone. I don’t want to spend another holiday without you. But, not to be with Jenny and Junior . . . "

"Ennis, look at me. This house will be yours too. The basement is set up for long term guests. And, if it’s too weird, we will build a guest house for them. I will do anything that makes you happy. I never want you to regret being here." Jack smiled. "Besides, thanks to Scott and his big evil mouth, I now know I can spend some of my just in case money. No need to run away now."

Ennis kissed Jack. "No running away."

"I can see the bonuses to having them here for Christmas."

"Jack . . . "

"I think knowing that Alma is sleeping downstairs while I have you tied up under some mistletoe . . . Kissing you everywhere . . . "

"Asshole."

"All over, Ennis, not just that one spot." Jack felt Ennis’ mouth kissing his neck.

"Hate you so much."

"I can feel how much you hated that idea."

"You are a bad man."

"You have no idea, Ennis. I have other thoughts running through my head."

"I bet." Ennis kissed Jack softly. "How come Sam didn’t look surprised to see me? He looked a little amused, actually."

"He knows what kind of man you are."

"What? I swear he looked at his watch and smiled."

"I bet he did."

"Why would he do that?"

"I think he knew you were going to appear. I thought he had bought a lot of food for eight people. I just thought he was being Sam, but now I think he was expecting three more people."

"Why would he?"

Jack stroked Ennis’ cheek. "Like I said, he knows what kind of man you are."

"Jesus. I bet he could sell sod to someone who lives on a house boat."

Jack laughed. "Probably. But he knows us. I think he understands me better than I do."

"Now that’s a skill." Ennis gently lifted Jack’s head so they could look into each other’s eyes. Ennis put his hand through Jack’s hair. "I know you liked our grandpa sex, but this is too much."

Jack frowned. "I look old. I don’t think I am gay enough to dye my hair."

"I love you no matter what. You don’t look old. Doesn’t matter. You will always be young at heart."

"You mean childish."

"Yeah." Ennis smiled. "Why did this happen? What happened with Bobby? Brenda said it had to have happened Saturday night when you told Bobby."

"I promised Bobby I would keep it between the two of us."

"Jack . . . "

"I promised."

"It was bad?"

"Yeah."

"Worse than you expected?" Ennis watched the pain in Jack’s face.

"A million times worse."

Ennis moved his hand to Jack’s cheek and stroked it softly. "I’m sorry, Darlin’. But Bobby came around."

"Yeah."

"What changed from last night to now?"

"When I hung up from you, he told me he would leave if it would make me happy. He would leave so you could come. He went upstairs and I just lost it. I don’t know, a switch went off in my head. Everything that I held in, it just poured out. I need him in my life, like I need you."

"You got me, Jack."

"That easy?"

"Yeah."

"Forever? Bobby said that he wants you here, but no divorce. If you move here, it’s for good."

"You won’t be able to get rid of me. I’m like a horse. I imprinted on you since we were nineteen, there is no one else."

Jack took Ennis’ hand from his cheek and kissed it. "I missed you so much, Ennis. Can’t even put it into words."

"I spent ever minute thinking about you. I was doing all this work and kept thinking I should be working with you . . . "

They kissed. It was gentle and reassuring.

"It’s going to be hard, Ennis. All joking aside. I haven’t left the property yet. I’m going to have to. We can’t be trapped here. If we are going to do this, it can’t be half way. I can’t expect Bobby to be the only one who has to be in public. I think he is braver than me."

"Can we start slowly? Going out separately, then eventually together."

"Yeah, we can do that." Jack kissed Ennis again. "You really gave notice?"

"Yeah. After I did, Stan told me Scott called him."

Jack pulled away from him and turned toward the house. "I’m sorry, Ennis." Jack looked into the kitchen and saw that it looked empty. "Did Scott call anyone else?" Jack felt Ennis press against his back. Jack looked down as Ennis’ arms wrapped around him. He felt Ennis’ chin on his shoulder.

"I will tell you everything he said later. But Stan put a stop of it. Stan also said that he hadn’t heard from anyone else."

"I’m so sorry."

"Shh. It’s probably my fault anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"When I wiped the mud off of you and Scott came up soon after . . . I wasn’t careful."

"Even if he saw something then, he had to be suspicious before that. Seems he was looking for a new job before that."

"It didn’t help."

"Now we can go to Main Street and have sex. No hiding now."

"I hope you are kidding."

"A little . . . Ennis, all this scares me."

"Me, too." Ennis put his mouth to Jack’s ear. "Scares me more to think of me in my house . . . Five years . . . Ten years . . . Fifty years . . . All alone. Unloved. Without you. You told me that at some point it would be harder to leave than to stay. I reached that point."

Jack leaned his head back and felt Ennis’ mouth on his neck. "Ennis . . . "

"Turn around." When Jack turned around, Ennis kissed him. This kiss wasn’t gentle and reassuring. It was possessive. When they pulled apart to breathe, they kept their faces close. "This it, Jack. This is when it begins. We are going to have take turns being the strong one, the brave one, the wise one . . . I’m going to need you to . . . "

"I promise."

"I promise, too." Ennis looked up at the house. "Guess we can’t ask Brenda and Sam to take the kids?"

"Can’t. Besides, I don’t want Bobby to think that you show up and I send him away. Junior and Jenny have had time . . . This is all new to him."

"I know. Just hoping."

"Matt asked if he could stay over, so there will be a fourth kid."

"Shit."

"I bought a tape that sounds like the ocean. Maybe it will cover any accidental noise."

"Accidental noise?"

"Haven’t fallen off of something recently, bet we are due."

"Do you have any of that peach bubble bath?"

"I have a case of it in my closet."

"You aren’t kidding, are you?"

"Nope. Had it shipped to me. It should last months, but knowing you, it will be weeks, maybe days."

Ennis laughed. "This is going to be an adventure, isn’t it?"

"The best one ever."

"Will you still read to me?"

"Every night. Will you still sing to me?"

"Always. Been practicing a song for you." Ennis whispered, "I’ll sing it to you later, Darlin’." Ennis watched Jack’s face light up. "Jack, will you still make me go to bizarre places that should make me want to cringe?"

Jack smiled. "Did you know that the world’s biggest ball of twine made by a community is in Kansas?"

Ennis smiled. "No."

"Wouldn’t it be a nice little road trip, Kitten?"

"Do think they would have a friend for Arnie?"

"He didn’t like the friends I got him?"

"The more the merrier."

"Jesus. I’m going to get a book on roadside attractions. And we are going to go to every one of them."

"Can’t wait."

"Ennis. Love you so much. Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Jack put his hands on Ennis’ cheeks. "Here we go." He kissed him hard. He then picked Ennis up.

Ennis felt Jack lift him into his arms. "Jack?"

Jack didn’t respond. He walked to the porch and up the stairs. He stopped at the door. "You are going to have to open the door."

"Put me down."

"Nope. Gonna carry you over the threshold."

"Jack . . . "

"I can stand here for a long time holding you."

"Jack."

"Eventually people are going to come back into the kitchen. They will see me standing here, holding you."

"Jack . . . "

"I want to enter this house together, as one. Don’t you?"

Ennis stroked Jack’s cheek. "You bet." Ennis reached out and opened the door. The sounds of happy voices and laughter were now heard.

Jack walked inside his house. ‘Our house’ he thought to himself. He kissed Ennis quickly and shut the door.

THE END

What Ennis sang that night:
Darlin’ - Beach Boys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpX3-Ekwh90

Ohh Darlin'
My Darlin' you're so fine
Ohhhh-ohhh-ohhh

Don't know if words could say
But Darlin' I'll find a way
To let you know what you meant to me
Guess it was meant to be
I hold you in my heart
As life's most precious part

Oh Darlin'
I dream about you often my pretty Darlin'
(Darlin' you're so fine)
I love the way you soften my life with your love
Your precious love uh huh, oh

I was living like half a man
Then I couldn't love but now I can
You pick me up when I'm feeling sad
More soul than I ever had
Gonna love you every single night
Cause I think you're too outta sight

Oh oh Darlin'
I dream about you often my pretty Darlin'
(Darlin' you're so fine)
I love the way soften my life with your love
Your precious love uh huh huh

Woah oh oh oh

Every night oh Darlin'
Gonna love you every single night, yes I will
Cause I think you're too dog gone outta sight

Oh Darlin'
I dream about you often my pretty darlin'
(Darlin' you're so fine)
I love the way soften my life with your love
Your precious love uh huh huh
Oh

This Land is Your Land - Chapter Thirty-Nine

2008-07-16T03:28:23Z

Title: This Land is Your Land - Chapter Thirty-Nine by asinglecolumn
Rating: NC-17 on/off through the fic (ON for this chapter, no doubts!)
Disclaimer: Brokeback Mountain is the creation of Annie Proulx, and no profit is being made off of the sharing of this work. We do this for enjoyment only.
Summary: Ennis is a high-school drop-out giving it a final go. Jack is an enigmatic history teacher. This is a modern-day AU!AU. In this story, POVs are intermingled.
Warnings: The story within contains adult themes, including but not limited to: explicit m/m sex, teacher/student relationships involving the high school level, cursing, and descriptions of violence, including sexual violence. This has been written for fun, but we understand that not everyone may enjoy it.
A/N: This is the final chapter of this story. I hope you like the ending.

( This Land is Your Land - Chapter Thirty-Nine )

Brokenback Plantation

2008-07-14T01:56:21Z

Title: Brokenback Plantation
Rating: NC-17
Genre: au au
Summary: Jack and Ennis are sold to the same owner.
Warnings: Angst, violence, human suffering...I don’t write using dialects
Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters and I make no money from this.
Feedback: Yes, be honest- just be nice about it.

THIS MAY OFFEND SOME PEOPLE!!!

PLEASE NOTE: Not very slashy. It just poured out of me. I had to write it.

Brokenback Plantation

Jack stood in front of the large crowd. He stood tall and proud even though he was naked. He stared at the back wall of the building. He could hear his price was going up quickly. In the back of his mind he knew his soon-to-be former owner was thrilled. He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think about how he had been poked and prodded earlier in the day by potential buyers. He didn’t want to think about his mother, aunties and siblings. He didn’t want to think about how the other people who were being sold looked at him. He also didn’t want to think about the other, the one like him, so different from the rest.

One of the men bidding told the auctioneer to turn Jack around. He knew it would only be for a quick moment. Jack knew that his back would slow the bidding. His front had no scarring, but his back, buttocks and legs did. The auctioneer turned him forward again. Jack was slightly pleased that his owner’s violence would hurt his profit.

He heard "sold" and was dragged offstage. The blond, was next. Jack didn’t know the buyer’s name or the price, it didn’t matter. His clothes were thrown at him. He dressed quickly and then was pushed to the floor. He was then chained to the wall. A few minutes later the blond man stood next to him. Jack was surprised that unlike his own body, there were no scars. The man dressed quickly and was pushed to the floor and was chained to the wall next to him.

An hour later Jack’s former owner appeared in front of him. "You were finally good for something." The man laughed as he patted himself where his wallet was. Jack watched the man walk away. Jack wondered how it could be so easy for a man to sell his son.

Ennis tried to be invisible as he watched the older man leave. It was obvious to him that the man sitting next to him was kin to the man walking away. They had the same blue eyes.

Ennis had noticed the blue-eyed man earlier. He was still in shock that he was being auctioned off when he, like the others, had been stripped and greased up. They spent three hours standing, being inspected. He spent most of the time staring at the floor. He noticed pale feet and glanced up for a moment. Most of the naked bodies were different shades of brown.

This man was pale where the sun hadn’t darkened his skin. The man’s back was facing him and Ennis could see the scars from beatings. Ennis had none. He learned early on to do exactly as was expected. And, he always did. Ennis was startled when the pale man turned around. His eyes were blue. Ennis had never seen a slave with blue eyes.

Ennis returned to looking at his own feet. They, like the rest of him, were the color of light maple syrup. He remembered when he was younger and his first owner’s son gave him and his siblings a small bottle of the syrup. He had just returned from the north and found out that Ennis and his brother had saved the life of his favorite horse.

It was one of the few happy moments of Ennis’ life. He, with his brother and sister ate the syrup with some bread. His brother held the syrup up to him and told him they were the same color. His brother and sister were darker and unlike him, had dark hair. It wasn’t discussed.

Ennis knew. He knew that his owner’s uncle was his father. He was blond and he was cruel. When Ennis was eight, his owner’s uncle dragged Ennis and his brother into a field. They saw their father, really his brother’s father, in a ditch. He was dead. He was forced to look at the man who raised him and loved him, even though he wasn’t his son. He had been beaten severely. It looked like he had been dragged by a wagon. His penis had been pulled off.

They were forced to bury him as the man spoke. "He thought he could escape, take you all away. I don’t think so. Told me to stay away from his woman, he doesn’t get to have his anything. You two remember that. We can do what we please with you."

Ennis remembered hearing his mother cry that night. The next day she was gone, taken away to live with the owner’s uncle. He never saw her again.

A week after the maple syrup, Ennis’ sister left with the owner’s son. He married and she went to take care of his new wife. When the son visited, Ennis and his brother were able to see their sister. Two years later Ennis and his brother were sold and he hadn’t seen her since.

They were sent to another state. They lived in a small cabin and tended the animals and the stables. It was better than the fields. The only danger was when an animal became ill. If the illness or death could not be explained, the slaves caring for them would be punished. Ennis spent many nights in the barn, making sure there was nothing he could be blamed for. He tried to protect his brother and the other slaves, too. The punishments doled out were unspeakable. Ennis still had nightmares because of his father and they always appeared when someone was punished.

Ennis looked at the feet of the man sitting next to him. Two days ago, the owner told Ennis he was giving his brother a wife and he was being sold. He only had a few moments to say goodbye to his brother. Now he was going to have a new owner.

Jack looked straight ahead. He pictured his mother, home, crying at the loss of her last child. He wondered what would happen to her because she was too old to have more children. When he was taken to this awful place, he overheard a conversation between his father and one of the slave traders. His father wanted to buy a young female, maybe two. They had to be pretty, fair skinned and light eyed. The slave trader didn’t have any women that were that description, but he would work on it.

Jack thought back to his mother and the farm. Most of the land was rented out by other people. Only a small patch was used for their home. There were gardens and a few animals. His father made his money by breeding fair skinned children and selling them. Jack was the first male child to live to adulthood. Female babies were the ones that would make his father the quickest and largest profit. Male babies were disposable. Males worked with the animals and the land. Males were punished for all the misdeeds of the household. The girls couldn’t have any marks on their skin.

Jack always wondered why his father wouldn’t want to make a larger profit on a strong male. But then one night he heard his father talking to a man taking away two of his sisters. Jack heard his father state that he could sell his best looking, light-skinned female slaves to the best whorehouses. And if they were blue eyed, their price could double. New Orleans’ madams seemed to appreciate the stock he sold.

Male slaves wouldn’t be profitable until they were bigger and older. That took more money and time. Therefore, Jack watched his brothers be beaten, starved, overworked and neglected. Once a boy showed illness they weren’t let into the house or barn. They could infect the girls. The boys had to stay in a small shelter and could only return if they got healthy. Jack was the only boy that ever returned to the house. Time after time he would return. No matter what was done to him, Jack survived. Jack knew that one field was littered with siblings.

Jack hoped that his mother would be freed, but that would be unrealistic. She was the cook and care giver to the other children when the other women were unable to work. He knew that it gave his mother joy to be with the small children, but it also gave her true heartache when they were sold or died. Jack had lasted the longest, nineteen years. His leaving was the most devastating to her. He could see it in her eyes. When he left, she slipped him a piece of cherry cake.

Jack swore to himself that he would never have children. He would never bring a life into a world where someone would own it. He would never have a child that was a slave. Jack would die first.

Jack’s thoughts were interrupted when a man came over to them and pinned a paper to his shirt and then to the blond’s shirt. When the man walked away, Jack looked around and then glanced at the paper. He quickly read that he was sold to a man named Joe Aguirre, from Virginia. He glanced over at the blond and saw the same name on the paper.

Ennis looked at the blue-eyed man. He noticed that the man looked at the papers. Ennis was sure that the man read the papers. Slaves weren’t allowed to be taught to read. It was against the law. Ennis glanced around, hoping no one noticed that the man read the paper. It didn’t seem like it, so he lowered his eyes.

Jack realized that this blond man noticed that he read. He wondered if he made a mistake. He had to be careful. This man had no scars, he wondered if he would tell someone. Virginia was a long way from Louisiana and he was alone for the first time in his life. He stupidly wanted to have some connection to someone. He had hoped that since they were going to the same place, maybe, they could become friends. But now he worried.

Ennis noticed two men walking toward them. They had leg chains in their hands. One man attached them to his ankles and then the other to the blue-eyed man. Their hands were released and they stood up.

"Are you going to cause problems? Do we have to bound your hands?" Jack and Ennis shook their heads. "Good. Aguirre is going to love the two of you." He started to walk way.

The other man shoved Jack and Ennis. "Move."

Jack took two steps and almost fell over. He felt a hand on his arm, keeping him from falling to the ground. He saw it was the blond man that kept him from falling. He watched the blond bend over and pick up the middle of the chain and then stand up. Jack picked up his own chain and started to walk. He whispered. "Thank you. Never been in chains until today."

Ennis nodded. He heard the sadness in the other man’s voice. He, himself, had only been in chains when he was being moved from one owner to another. But he had seen plenty of others in chains. He wondered how this man, who could probably pass as white, ended up next to him. Ennis was slightly relieved when he was sure that they were going together.

Ennis always looked different from everyone else. It wasn’t just the lighter skin, there had been other light skinned slaves at the different plantations, it was his hair. He had seen some slaves with reddish hair, but not with blond. If he worked in the sun, his skin darkened but his hair lightened. He remembered someone once called him a flaxen blond. He didn’t know what it meant, but it didn’t sound like a hair color for a black man.

When he was sold with his brother, his hair color seemed to keep most of the other slaves from associating with him. He was an ugly reminder that female slaves were at the mercy of their owner’s whims. There were plenty of slaves with visible indications that they had white blood in them, but none like Ennis.

Ennis could see that this blue eyed man was slowly figuring out the best way to walk with the chains. Not only was he fair and blue eyed, his hair only had some soft curls. Ennis had noticed that when this man was surrounded by other slaves he looked white, but when he was near white men, he looked almost white. There was a difference. Ennis could see African features in the man’s face. He knew that southerners would see it too.

Once, when Ennis was a child, the owners of the plantations had guests from Spain. The wife had been darker than Ennis. But unlike his features, she didn’t look African. He wondered if Jack could pretend to be white, with Spanish blood. Northerners might believe it. Ennis wondered why he thought of this. To run was to die. To do other than what was expected was death or pain. Ennis would never chance it.

Jack saw that they were being led to a wagon. The men lowered the back of the uncovered wagon and motioned for him to climb in. He struggled with the weight of the shackles, but he managed to get himself into the wagon. He put his hand out to help the blond up. When they were both sitting in the wagon, the back of the wagon was put back into the position. The wagon was filled with supplies. He and the blond man leaned against the side of the wagon. They were able to extend their legs and position the chains so they could be comfortable. They were on the far end of the wagon, away from where the two other men would be sitting and driving the wagon.

Jack watched the two men attach two horses to the back of the wagon. They had the same tags attached to their manes as he did. He wondered who sold for more. He knew the horses would be treated better. The other men climbed to their seats and the wagon started to move. He wondered how far they had to go. He realized that the blond was looking at the horses. He whispered. "They are beautiful."

"Yeah." Ennis wondered if he would get to work with them. He hoped so, he never worked in the fields. He saw what it did to people.

"Jack . . . My name is Jack." He didn’t bother saying Twist. He didn’t want to carry his father’s name.

"Ennis."

Jack wondered if he had a last name. It didn’t matter, it wouldn’t really be his name.

Ennis wanted to know where they were going. He wondered if the paper said so. "I won’t tell."

"What?" Jack watched as Ennis looked up at the other men and then touched his paper. "Oh."

"Does it say where we are going?"

"Virginia."

"I wonder how far that is."

"Don’t know."

They were quiet for the next few hours. As it started to get dark out, the drivers pulled over to a small lake. They let Ennis and Jack out and told them to take care of the horses. Once Jack figured out how to deal with the chains and the horses he and Ennis unhitched the horses that were in front of the wagon and led all the horses to the water. After the horses cooled down they attached the horses to the wagon so they could graze.

Ennis noticed that the men had put up a small tent and started a small fire. He could smell food cooking. He was starving. He hadn’t eaten since that morning.

Jack could smell the food. He had eaten the piece of cake the night before and nothing since. He wondered if they would feed them. His father would taunt him with food. He often went a day without eating, sometimes two days when his father was in a foul mood. Two weeks before he was sold, he was fed more to bulk up. Otherwise he lived on the little that was provided for him and what he could take without it being noticed.

Soon they were called over and one of the men looked up at them. The man walked over to Jack and unpinned the paper from Jack’s shirt. He did the same for Ennis. He looked at the paper. "Ennis? Your momma was too stupid to put a D at the beginning?" He laughed.

Ennis said nothing.

The man handed him a cup. "You two can share." He poured coffee into the cup. "When we finish eating, you two can have the rest. If there is any." The man walked away.

Ennis noticed that Jack was eyeing a tree near the water. They walked over to the tree and sat down. They passed the drink back and forth. When the cup was empty, Ennis watched Jack get up and wash the cup in the water. Jack then filled it and brought it back. They shared the water. When the cup was empty, Ennis refilled the cup. If they weren’t going to get food, at least they could fill themselves with water.

"Blondie, come here."

Jack watched Ennis get up and go over to the men. Jack refilled the cup and then put it down next to where they were sitting. He walked toward a returning Ennis. He could see that Ennis was having a hard time with the chain and the cooking pot. When he got closer, he saw that Ennis was also trying to balance four hard tacks. Jack took the hard crackers from him. He then took Ennis’ chain.

Ennis was grateful when Jack took the hard tacks from him. He was afraid he was going to drop them. He didn’t want to waste food. He was surprised when Jack took the chain too. It made it easier for him to carry the hot pot.

When they sat down, they fished out the two spoons that submerged into the beans. Jack looked at the food. "Hate beans."

Ennis almost laughed in spite of their situation. He had been listening to Jack’s stomach growling for hours and when he finally got food, he complained. "Looks like there is some salt pork in there too."

Jack put the crackers into the beans to soften. "Didn’t say I wasn’t going to eat it." They ate slowly, trying to make the food last. It was more food than the expected to see. When they were done, they washed the pot and spoons. They drank more water.

After they returned everything to the two men, they were led away to relieve themselves. Ennis noticed that Jack was having trouble. He wondered if he never had to go in front of others. Privacy was not a luxury that Ennis had ever experienced.

As they walked back, Jack wondered if he would be able to come accustom to all that was now required of him. It was clear to him, that with all that he had to deal with on the Twist farm, he had been freer than he would ever be again. He could handle the hunger, the pain, the cold, the wet, the work and the humiliation, but he didn’t know if he could handle the idea that he couldn’t stop what he was doing, pee in private and then return to work. The only thing he had control of was his bodily functions and now that was taken away.

Ennis could see each step was becoming more difficult for Jack. He took Jack’s chain from him. He hoped it was lessening the reminders of being shackled. They climbed into the wagon. The supplies had been moved so they could lie down. The chains were attached to the wagon. He watched the men walk away. He could feel that the temperature was dropping. He noticed that all the horses had blankets, but they weren’t given any.

Jack moved a sack that felt like it was filled with potatoes. He positioned it to make it a pillow for them. He stretched out and then Ennis followed him. There wasn’t much room. Jack didn’t mind the cool air. He slept outside often, it was easier than dealing with his father. He could see that Ennis wasn’t comfortable. "Turn on your side, Ennis. Face away from me."

"What?"

"Just do it." Jack waited until Ennis turned. Jack slipped one arm under Ennis’ neck and the other around Ennis’ waist. He pulled Ennis against him. He held Ennis like he had held his little brothers.

Ennis was first going to protest, but then he felt Jack’s body heat. It took the chill away. "Thanks." It was the first time, since he was a small child, that someone held him. Even though he was moving away from the life he knew, he felt comforted.

Jack and Ennis woke up to the sounds of the other men. They were in the same position as they fell asleep in. They sat up and stretched. After they took care of the horses, they were allowed to take care of their own needs. They were given a razor, some soap and a mirror. They took turns shaving. They ate the remains of the other mens’ breakfast, eggs and potatoes. They were led to the wagon and sat in the same places they sat the day before.

Their route wasn’t direct. Supplies were picked up and added to the wagon. The supplies were protected from the elements, but Jack and Ennis weren’t. If it was a cool or wet night, Jack almost always spooned Ennis. There were a few nights when Ennis spooned Jack. Jack would usually protest but Ennis would say it was only fair that Ennis did this for him.

Jack couldn’t remember ever being held. He was the one who held his brothers and kept them warm. He would protest out loud, but was thankful that Ennis didn’t listen to him. Jack had never spent a moment of his life feeling safe. But for some reason, at night, being held by Ennis made him feel that way.

At one campsite Jack and Ennis found a piece of oilcloth. They asked if they could keep it. They washed it and spread it out to dry. It wasn’t big enough to cover them completely, but it helped.

After three weeks being on the road they entered a large plantation. Jack read the sign that said Brokeback Plantation. He and Ennis looked around as they drove up to the house. They passed people and animals in the fields. As they moved closer to the house, they could see barns and silos. The wagon turned and soon they were at the side of the house. There were large gardens filled with vegetables. Ennis saw the metal shop and tannery. He then saw small cabins scattered haphazardly on a field.

A large man walked out of a side door and greeted the drivers. Jack and Ennis were let out of the wagon. The chains were removed. They both could hear the men tell the large man that he would be pleased with their choices. The large man walked in front of them. Jack and Ennis looked at their feet.

Ennis felt the man tug on his hair. "Remarkable." The man’s hand moved to Ennis’ face. "Look at me, boy." Ennis looked up. "Remarkable." The man turned to his attention to Jack. "He is light." Jack knew he wasn’t as pale as he usually was, sitting in the sun daily had tanned his skin. "Look at me, boy." Jack looked up. He could see the surprised look. "Won’t he be fun to show around. Lily will get a kick out of them. Too bad we can’t breed them. We could have gotten a blond blued baby." The large man laughed. "Take them."

Jack and Ennis were led to the blacksmith. They were told to strip. The men removed their clothes, trying to ignore the slaves working around them. Jack knew that his previously covered pale skin raised some eyebrows. Ennis knew that the blond hair on his head was shocking to the other people. He knew that they looked at his body because all the hair on his body was blond. It may not be as pale as the hair bleached from the sun, but it stood out against his skin. Both men tried to ignore the structures in front of them. Ignoring it didn’t work. Soon they were each standing spreadeagle, tied to the structures.

The large man spoke. He was standing behind them. "I am Joe Aguirre and I own you. I read your paperwork. I’m sure you will both work hard. But I want you to be reminded that I control your lives."

Jack felt the whip on his back. He closed his eyes and made no sounds as he was beaten. Almost everything he had been experiencing was new, not this. After ten strokes he heard his new master move away. It was the easiest whipping he ever had. He then thought of Ennis. He had seen his skin, there were no marks. He doubted that he had ever been whipped.

Ennis had listened as Jack was whipped. He never heard a sound from him. He had never been whipped. His brother had once. He had never seen his brother cry, but he did as he was whipped and later when he put salve on his brother’s wounds. Ennis closed his eyes when he heard Jack’s whipping end.

The pain was delayed by a few seconds. He made no sounds, but the tears rolled down his face. He had never been in such pain in his life. He was relieved when it was over. He opened his eyes when he saw the blacksmith holding an animal brand. Ennis couldn’t see as the man walked toward Jack.

Jack saw the brand. His eyes got big. He had been beaten often, nearly to death on occasion, but never burned. After the blacksmith handed Aguirre the brand, the blacksmith put his hands on Jack’s waist. Jack could hear the man whisper, "I’m sorry." Jack felt the brand press against his ass. He could smell his flesh burn. He made no sounds. He became lightheaded but he didn’t faint.

While the brand was reheating, Jack was released. He dropped to the ground. A small girl brought him a cup of water. He watched Ennis being branded. He heard Ennis yell and then saw Ennis’ body slump.

Ennis woke up on the ground. He remembered screaming from the pain and then nothing. He couldn’t believe the pain he still felt. He pushed himself up and took a cup a cup of water from a small girl. He drank the water. He turned his head and saw Jack standing. His back was bloody and Ennis could see the angry burn on Jack’s right cheek. It looked like swirls to him. Jack turned toward him and he could see that Jack was holding his clothes in his hands, covering his crotch. Ennis slowly stood up and picked up his clothes.

The two men silently walked behind the young girl. She pointed to different buildings and told them what they were. She told them where they could get supplies and the plantation schedules. She was leading them to a small cabin. There was a man waiting for them.

As they moved closer to the cabin, Jack quietly asked, "What’s your name?"

"Iris."

"I’m Jack. He’s Ennis. Thank you for the water, Iris."

"You’re welcome."

Jack saw the evil glare of the man at the cabin. He watched as Iris ran off. "You will call me Mr. Evans. You will take tomorrow off to recover and then you will both work with the animals. Mostly horses, but other animals when needed. You may also be used as coachmen. You will be given your weekly food supplies on Saturdays. Your food is in your cabin. You will make your own morning and evening meals. You will be fed midday. There is a second set of clothing in your cabin. I’m sure that Iris showed you where the wood pile and pump is. Today is Tuesday. I expect you at the main stable Thursday at six A.M.. I will send someone to show you where it is. You will work Monday through Saturday. We have a rotation for Sunday, the Lord’s day. The Mistress may want the two of you to take them to church, so I may have to modify your schedules."

He walked away and Jack and Ennis walked into their cabin. They dropped their clothes on a stool and looked around the room. There was a small fireplace, a table, two stools and two mattresses on the floor. Over the fireplace was two table settings, two candle holders with a candle in each and matches. There were several shelves that had food supplies. There were a few pegs on the wall. Clothes were hanging from some of them. The table had clean linens, the razor, soap and mirror they had used. And, sitting on one corner, folded neatly was the oilcloth they recovered.

Ennis had lived in small cabins, it was familiar. He was surprised that the oilcloth was returned to them. Jack looked around. He had never lived in a cabin or on a plantation. Everything was almost as overwhelming as the pain he was feeling. Jack saw that the water bucket was full so he grabbed the two cups and dunked them into the water. He handed one cup to Ennis. They drank quietly as they stood.

There was a knock on the door and Jack put down the cup and opened the door. He used one hand to cover himself. Two elderly women walked in. One carried a bucket, linens and some ripped cloth. The other woman held two containers in one hand and a pot in the other.

"I’m Sarahbeth and she’s Emmalou. This bucket has water with some medicine mixed in it. It will clean your cuts and help them heal without too much scarring. It should relieve some pain, too. We also have these linens for you. They are stained but clean. Use them instead of the clean linen. Emmalou has salve for your burns. Don’t use this water. She also has some laudanum for you. It isn’t much. Put a few drops in your water. It will help you sleep. We also have some food for you."

"Thank you . . . I’m Jack and that’s Ennis."

"Thank you." Ennis whispered.

"Aguirre learned that welcome from his grandfather." Sarabeth said as she put down the items she had been carrying.

"His grandfather was worse." Emmalou said as she placed her items on the table. Jack and Ennis both noticed the healed brand burns under their ears. "Aguirre’s mother didn’t like the brands on the neck, she thought they were unsightly . . . Do you want us to help you with your wounds?"

Ennis looked over at Jack. "No. We will take care of it. Thank you."

"When you replace the wraps in the morning, you should put them in the bucket and leave it outside. We will bring you more wrappings and medicine."

Sarabeth pointed to the covered windows. There was one on each side of the cabin. "You can open the windows and still close the shutter. The air will flow." She walked over to the door and pointed to a small latch. "It won’t prevent people from walking in, but it makes a person have to push again, with a little more force. Gives you a second or two. If you get caught using it, act stupid. You weren’t here when it was built, you didn’t know it existed."

"Thank you."

The women left and Jack pulled the latch. It looked like a piece of wood had splintered off. He pulled at the door gently and felt it being held in place. He heard Ennis swear. He turned to see that Ennis had opened the shutter and window and then closed the shutter, again. Jack did the same thing to the other window.

Jack looked at Ennis. "What should we do first?"

"The burns."

Jack pulled out a long strip of cloth as Ennis opened the salve. It stank. Jack felt Ennis gently put the salve on the wound. At first it caused a sharp pain, but then he felt the pain slightly subside. He handed Ennis the strip and felt Ennis cover the wound. He watched as Ennis wound the wrapping around his body and then tie it. Jack started to the same thing for Ennis when Ennis stopped him. "The burn looks like letters. Is it?"

"It’s the letter a inside the letter g. Must be for Aguirre. First two letters of his name." Jack went back to work. When he finished, he looked at Ennis. "Do you want to eat or should we do our backs?"

"I can’t eat with this pain."

"Let me do you first, Ennis. I dealt with this before." Ennis nodded. "Pull out the stool and see if you can sit on it halfway." While Ennis positioned himself, Jack found a small basin. He poured in some of the medicated water. He put some strips into the basin. "Lift your arms. If you can’t, spread them out."

Ennis felt Jack working on his back. He needed a distraction. "Who taught you how to read?"

"My mother. The girl she was the playmate for, really her half sister, taught her."

"Oh."

Jack told Ennis how his grandmother worked in a small household and gave birth to her master’s child. His own wife gave birth a week later. Jack’s mother was the little girl’s companion. The girl taught her how to read when she learned. When the girl found out the true relationship, she had both mother and daughter sold. The mother was sent to Mississippi and his mother to Louisiana. She was fourteen and was sold to John Twist. He was eighteen and liked that she was light skinned. She started having his children at fifteen. She gave birth to twenty-two children. Eighteen lived passed infancy. When the oldest girl turned eight he took her to New Orleans and sold her to a brothel. With the money he bought two young, light-skinned slaves to have his children. John Twist didn’t want to work the farm, raising future high class whores was less work and more fun.

He kept the girls in line by hurting their brothers. Jack was the only male child to turn thirteen. John brought in another slave when one woman died in child birth. Jack had buried seventeen brothers and half brothers and five sisters and half sisters. He had also watched thirty-four sisters be sold. His own mother had no children of her own left. But Jack left three brothers and ten sisters behind.

Ennis felt ill listening to Jack. "So you are three-fourths white."

"Probably seven-eighths. Doesn’t matter. If your mother is a slave, you are slave."

They changed positions and Ennis started to work on Jack. He told him how his first owner’s uncle would take his mother from their cabin and rape her. Once, he raped her in front of her family. He told Jack how no one would talk about it. His mother’s husband, the father of her other children was a very dark man. His mother wasn’t as dark. There was suspected white blood in her history. His brother and sister had brown skin like their mother. When he was born there was no need to guess who his father was.

This uncle continued to hurt his mother. She miscarried a few times. Ennis told Jack about being taken to see where his father killed his adopted father. Jack could hear Ennis’ pain as he talked about burying him. Ennis told Jack about being sold twice and being separated from his family.

Neither felt like eating, but they did anyway. They knew food wasn’t always abundant and you ate when you could.

Ennis suggested putting the oilcloth over the mattresses to protect the mattresses. They pushed the mattresses together. Jack flipped the tops over slightly to give them a pillow. They approximated where they thought the wounds would be and spread out the oilcloth. They covered the mattresses with the stained linen. They dropped a few drops of the laudanum into their drinks.

They tried to find positions where they weren’t leaning on any wounds. They both ended up partially on their stomach and partially on their sides. They faced each other. There was enough light so the could see each other.

They didn’t know if it was the drug or that they finally were able to share their life experiences with another person, but they need to be physically closer. Neither had ever had someone who wanted to listen to their secrets and pain. It was all new. They soon held the other’s hand. As they listened to the sounds of a few people returning to their cabins, they started to touch each other’s faces. They moved closer and started to kiss each other. They soon fell asleep.

Ennis woke up to groaning. He didn’t know if it was Jack’s or his own. He knew it was the middle of the night and he knew the laudanum had run out. He heard Jack groan. Ennis stood up and blindly moved to where the candles and matches were. When he lit the candle, he turned to see Jack sitting up. Ennis refilled the cups with water and added the laudanum. He brought them over to Jack. He then carried the candle, a stool and the matches and put the stool next to the mattress. He placed the candle holder and the matches on the stool. He then grabbed the salve for the burns.

They took turns moving the bandage, rubbing the salve over the wound and covering the wound with the bandage. When they finished their drinks, they lay down again. They started to kiss again. Soon their hands moved down the other’s body. They started to stroke the other. They had both seen people having sex, but neither had touched another that way. They had never touched themselves that way.

Even through the fog of the pain and the drug, the pleasure was felt. As they came they moaned the other’s name. After, they watched each other for a few minutes. Ennis snuffed out the candle and then they slept.

The next day was more of the same.

Thursday morning they woke up to a knock and someone saying they should get up. They lit a candle and pulled apart the beds. They took care of their personal needs. Ennis got fresh water as Jack made some johnny cakes. They ate quickly. They opened the door to air out the room and to bring in a little light. The sun was half up.

Iris led them to stables and Mr. Evans. They were told what to do. They both ignored their pain and worked. Since they were close to the house, they had to go to the kitchen for lunch, which was next to the house. There was a window where they would pick up their food and then return the dishes. They were surprised to find that it was a hearty soup. They both assumed that it was made from the leftovers of the owner’s meal and vegetable scraps.

They sat in the shade, under a tree, but the other slaves stayed away. Jack asked Ennis if it was normal for the new slaves to be shunned. Ennis told him that sometimes he saw it happen, but he was guessing that the features that made them different caused it. If this plantation was like his previous one, they wouldn’t be trusted.

They watched as Iris carried her bowl and sat down next to them. She pulled out three pieces of bread and gave them each one. She told them that her parents were sold to a plantation in the deep south as punishment but Mrs. Aguirre found her entertaining and kept her. She shared a cabin with Sarabeth and Emmalou. She was learning to be a seamstress. She knew that having a skill would keep her out of the fields. They heard someone whistling. She told them that the slaves who carried food to the house had to whistle. Aguirre stated that you couldn’t whistle and eat at the same time. After they ate, she would have to have them taken to be viewed by the Mistress of the house. If she approved, they would take them to be measured for clothes to be coachmen.

They had only fifteen minutes to eat. Iris took them to a pump so they could clean up to be presented. They stood on the lawn as the Aguirres looked them over. They told Iris to take them to the seamstress.

That Sunday, Ennis and Jack took the Aguirre family to church. They both felt the stares of the church goers.

Three weeks passed quickly. Ennis and Jack were often called to drive Mrs. Aguirre to social calls. They also drove them to dinners and parties. Each Sunday they drove them to church and to whose ever house they dined at afterwards. They were given Mondays off.

When they took the Aguirres out, other coachmen ignored them. On the plantation the only people who would socialized with them were Iris, Sarabeth and Emmalou. Sometimes Jack and Ennis joked that their only friends were two sixty-year-olds and an eight-year-old.

At night they still held each other, kissed each other and gave each other physical pleasure. When they healed, they found other ways to give each other pleasure. One night, Ennis turned Jack over and entered him. Later that night, Jack entered Ennis.

Months passed. Jack noticed that Ennis always made sure he did exactly what he was told. He would drop everything to make sure he pleased the overseer or owner. Ennis’ father’s lesson had been taught well. And Jack knew that Ennis had learned Aguirre’s lesson as well.

Jack wasn’t afraid of pain or even death. He had been whipped twice for being late. Ennis begged him not to cause trouble. Jack tried to be careful for Ennis’ sake, but the fear that was in Ennis wasn’t in Jack. His father had done worse.

Even though he was afraid, Ennis asked Jack to teach him how to read. He knew that he would never have a book to read, but he wanted to know what the signs in the stores said. There were also times when they unwrapped deliveries that were wrapped in newspaper. Jack would ask permission to use the torn, crumpled newspaper for their fireplace. Since no one knew he could read he was usually allowed to.

Sometimes they would only get parts of articles or advertisements, but they didn’t care. They once got a small section that had a drawing of an elephant and part of an account of being at a circus. One time they read a short poem. Sometimes they read the news. They were shocked to find out that there were people who were trying to stop slavery. They read about how people were helping slaves escape. They also read about laws that were being enacted to return escaped slaves. One paper had a map and they both could see how close they were to freedom. Ennis made sure that paper was burned quickly.

Outside the cabin, they were constantly reminded that they were property. Inside their cabin, they felt free. Once in a while Jack would mention escaping, but Ennis always refused to discuss it. Two events brought the discussion to the forefront. The first was when two slaves ran away. When they were returned, covered with dog bite marks, all the slaves had to watch as they were beaten. They were then branded on their foreheads. Ennis slammed the table and said he never wanted to hear about it again.

A month later, Iris angered Mrs. Aguirre and she was hit several times. Iris tried to back way and fell into the fireplace. She was pulled out, but she was too burned to recover. She died a day later in her cabin. Jack buried her. Ennis would hold him at night. One night, Jack whispered, "I’m leaving on the next new moon. Come with me."

Ennis tried to talk Jack out of it but, he knew he couldn’t. He also knew he couldn’t leave.

Three days before he left, Jack was told to pack up his stuff. He and Ennis were returning from the stables when he was told the news. Aguirre’s younger brother just got married and his new wife wanted to borrow Jack. They were moving outside Charleston, South Carolina and she thought that Jack would get them noticed. She wanted Ennis too, but Joe didn’t want to lose him.

He only had a few moments to pack and say goodbye to Ennis. They couldn’t even be alone. When Ennis shut the door, he fell to his knees.

Four years passed before they saw each other again. Jack returned with Joe Aguirre’s brother and family. They didn’t like South Carolina and decided to move back to Virginia. They were going to stay on the plantation while their new house was being prepared for them.

Ennis had been told to wait in the stables. He would have horses to care for. The stable was empty of all other people so he greeted Jack with a kiss. He felt Jack kiss back, but he also felt Jack flinch. He lifted the back of Jack’s clothes until he could see skin. Ennis could see wounds in different stages of healing. He tried to get Jack to tell him what was happening to him but Jack replied later.

They took care of the horses and then they walked to the slave quarters. Ennis noticed that Jack was limping and asked. Again, Jack said later. Jack was assigned a tiny cabin. Ennis was going to go with him to catch up. First, they stopped at their old cabin.

Jack was stunned to see a woman standing in the room. Two small girls were sitting on the mattress. Ennis introduce Jack to his wife Alma and their daughters Alma, Junior and Jenny. She didn’t look pleased when Ennis said that he was going to catch up with Jack and he would see her in the morning.

They stopped by Sarabeth and Emmalou’s cabin. After a few hugs and kisses they were given a pot filled of food and told to catch up.

First they ate.

Ennis told Jack how a few weeks after Jack left, Alma appeared. She had been given the same welcoming as they had. She healed in Sarabeth and Emmalou’s cabin. While she was healing, they were told that she was bought to be Ennis’ wife. She was darker than Ennis, but her hair had some red highlights. They both knew that their owners wanted to get light-haired slaves. It hadn’t happened yet, both girls had dark brown hair.

Then Ennis undressed Jack and looked at him. Jack was covered in wounds from his the backs of his knees to his shoulders. He had Jack lie on his stomach while he undressed. He gently kissed every part of Jack’s back.

Jack told Ennis how he too was paired with a woman. Lureen wasn’t light skinned, but she had blue eyes. He liked her, but he refused to mate with her. At first, they pretended they were having sex, but after she wasn’t getting pregnant questions were being asked.

Their master entered their cabin and demanded they have sex in front of him. He wanted to make sure they weren’t too stupid and doing it wrong. Jack refused and was beaten. The beatings continued. Threats were made that they would sell him south and turn him into a field hand. He still refused. He would not be a father of a child that would be a slave.

The beatings had continued for almost two years. When they decided to return, they sold Lureen and stopped beating him. Jack thought it was because Jack was still Joe Aguirre’s property. Jack told Ennis when he healed he was going to run. Ennis told him that he wouldn’t leave his daughters.

That night they gave each other pleasure. They both felt what they had missed and they both felt the sadness of their current situation.

Ennis spent the next few nights with Jack. He felt the same pain when he watched Jack leave.

Six months passed before Jack returned. There was going to be a large gala held on the property and Aguirre’s brother and family were going to spend the week. Jack was told that he should go to his old cabin. There were too many visiting slaves. Jack wondered how Ennis’ wife would feel about him being there.

The only thing that kept Jack going was that the night of the party was a new moon. He was going to be dressed in a suit and open doors of the incoming carriages. He would then escape. He knew where there was a stop on the underground railroad. He hoped when he went north the suit would make him look white. Jack had practiced talking like a southern gentleman. He also knew that being able to read would make people doubt that he was a slave. He wanted Ennis to come with him. He had a dark dye in his bag. He wanted to dye Ennis’ hair and have Ennis appear to be his slave.

When Jack reached the cabin, he knocked on the door. He found only Ennis in the cabin.

Ennis was surprised to see Jack. He let him in and closed the door. He let Jack hug him and kiss him. He waited for the words. "Ennis, where is Alma and your daughters?"

Ennis pulled away from Jack. He told Jack how Aguirre decided that he had to find another woman for Ennis. Someone fairer. He sold Alma and his daughters. Ennis had been alone for three months.

Jack held Ennis and tried to take away his pain. Later, when they were in bed, Jack quietly asked Ennis he loved Alma.

Ennis looked at Jack. He replied no. Ennis touched Jack’s cheek. Ennis loved his daughters, but not Alma. Ennis told Jack his heart belonged to another.

It took a few moments for Jack to understand that Ennis meant him. They kissed.

"Come with me, Ennis." Jack told Ennis of his plan. Ennis started to reject Jack’s plan when Jack interrupted him. "Ennis, you are dying slowly. If we get caught, we may be hurt or killed but we would at least have had a few moments as free men." Ennis was quiet. "Ennis, I hate to say this, but you will never see your daughters again. Do you really want to wait for the next woman, the next set of children to disappear? Aguirre could sell them off anytime, too. Ennis come with me. You don’t have to stay with me once we are in Canada. If you want a wife and children, marry a free woman and have free children."

"You don’t want me to stay with you?"

"Ennis, I want to spend all my days and night with you. My heart would break, but if you want a woman I would understand. I want you to be a free man, Ennis."

"I only want you, Jack."

The night of the party, they followed Jack’s plan. They found the correct house and was hidden away. The conductor helped them dye Ennis’ hair. As they moved north, they were given a traveling case. Jack added books and some clothes to the case. They played their roles, owner and slave, well. Outside New York City they came across their wanted poster in a newspaper. It shook them both, but Jack was now wearing a different suit and Ennis wasn’t blond anymore.

After several weeks, they were finally on a train, they would cross into Canada while riding the train. Jack would spend several hours sitting in one of first class cars. He would read a book as people played cards. Ennis would wait in the sleeping compartment. Ennis would watch the landscape change as they moved north.

They ended up outside a small town. They had a small parcel of land. They farmed enough to feed themselves and their animals. Every so often, a person who helped them escape, appeared with an orphaned child. They took the children in. They added onto the house and to the property. With the financial help of anti-slavery groups, they started a boarding school.

After the Civil War ended, they had people looking for their siblings and Ennis’ children. Nobody was found. They knew they would have to live with the pain of that. They also knew that they had raised and taught hundreds of children. As adults, these children returned for visits, bringing their own families with them.

They also knew that they had each other.

One night, when Ennis’ blond hair was now white and Jack didn’t have much hair at all, Ennis noticed a cloth sticking over the top shelf of their bedroom closet. He pulled it down and saw that it was the oilcloth they found when they first met. He entered the bedroom and held it up to Jack.

"I see it, Ennis."

"You had this all this time?"

"You knew that."

"No, I didn’t."

"I thought I told you. I took it when I was sent away. Always kept it with me. Thought of you when I used it to protected myself from the elements. Made me feel that you were protecting me, too."

Ennis put the cloth on a chair and climbed into the bed. He put his arms around Jack. "I swear . . . "

THE END

Please note that if I wrote a truly honest story, I would have written Jack running away alone and being killed. It would be more canon-like. I just couldn’t do it. The story was painful enough as is.

In Plain Sight - Chapter 26

2008-07-13T22:18:15Z

Title: In Plain Sight
Pairing: Jack/Ennis
Rating: NC-17 for the story as a whole. (We will get there, I promise.)
Synopsis: This is an AU!AU story that is a completely fictional, loose crossover between BBM and the movie Witness. It features a sexually naive Amish!Ennis, who meets skeptical, streetwise city-cop Jack when he travels to Philadelphia in search of his brother.
Disclaimer: I did not create the characters and do not seek to profit from them.
A/N: I do not share the beliefs of the Amish, but I mean no disrespect to them either.
Feedback is always greatly appreciated, even if you just say hi and tell me you are reading. It keeps me going.
Note: This story is now friends-locked. I have given people advance notice to be friended, but if you still haven’t asked and want to read, please leave me a request on this public entry and I will friend you.

Previous chapters are on my LJ.

Chapter 26

In Plain Sight - Chapter 25

2008-07-13T11:36:52Z